The present invention relates generally to data communications in a telecommunications network, and more particularly, to a method and system for using a common channel for transporting data information.
In a typical CDMA telecommunication system, once a mobile station (MS) is initialized, it has to acquire a traffic channel before it can exchange data with a base station. Alternatively, the MS can stay in a dormant state while maintaining minimum contact with the base station through a common channel. The cost of using a traffic channel is significant. For example, functionality such as power control, handoff, and channel resource management have to be implemented for supporting the MS to work under the coverage of the telecommunication system because various intelligent features of the traffic channel are very important to the quality of services provided between the base station and the MS.
Although continuous data communication sessions such a telephone conversation may require a good traffic channel, many wireless applications only require short data bursts. For example, stock quotes are sent to the MS only upon request, or an alarm message is sent once every two hours. In each case, the message sent is relatively short and of a known duration (short data bursts). Such short data burst communications may not need to use many features of the traffic channel because the data involved is not continuous, and usually is sent only once in a predetermined period of time.
What is needed is a method and system to enable short data burst communications using the common channel without having to establish a communication link between the MS and the base station over a traffic channel.